Ross A. Griffith Wake Forest University NCAIR/SCAIR Conference Asheville, North Carolina

1. National Trends Toward Standardized Accountability Reporting:Implications for Institutional Research Ross A. Griffith Wake Forest University NCAIR/SCAIR Conference Asheville, North Carolina April 7-9, 2008

2. Spellings Commission “We have noted a remarkable shortage of clear, accessible information about crucial aspects of American colleges and universities . . . Our complex, decentralized postsecondary education system has no comprehensive strategy, particularly for undergraduate programs, to provide either adequate internal accountability systems or effective public information.” “No current ranking system of colleges and universities directly measures the most critical point—student performance and learning.” – Secretary Spellings

3. National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) • Created “Accountability” Web Site (U-CAN) for national private colleges & universities • Same items asked and answered for all participants • “Consumers, Congress, and the U.S. Department of Education have called for consumer-friendly information that individuals need to evaluate colleges, a goal that NAICU strongly supports.” • “The college and university profiles provide key statistical data that's complemented by narrative descriptions and subject-specific links to relevant campus web pages.”

4. U-CANhttp://www.ucan-network.org/ “The in-depth information included in the college and university profiles covers admissions, enrollment, academics, student demographics, graduation rates, most common fields of study, transfer of credit policy, accreditation, faculty information, class size, tuition and fee trends, price of attendance, financial aid, campus housing, student life, and campus safety.”

5. U-CAN(Continued) “U-CAN also will give consumers easy access to information on average loans at graduation, undergraduate class-size breakdown, and net tuition for hundreds of colleges. This information, which comes from the U.S. Department of Education's IPEDS survey and the Common Data Set, is often difficult for consumers to find and decipher.”

6. U-CAN Outcomes • Participating institutions - 671 • Published “live” profiles - 597 • Visitors since launch - 194,550 • Page views since launch - 646,818

7. U-CAN Evaluation • “Many users have suggested that U-CAN should include a more robust search mechanism.” • “Positive feedback from the federal government, particularly members of Congress, that the site meets their expectations. In fact, the HEA Reauthorization contains language directing the Dept. of Education to set up a ‘U-CAN’ system that is nearly identical to the present U-CAN. Some state governments (Ohio comes to mind as an example) are thinking of implementing systems based on U-CAN as well.”

8. Wake Forest Chemistry Department Learning and Performance Outcomes • Standardized Test Results • Medical School Placement Results • Source: 2005-06 Program Review

9. Performance of Undergraduates on American Chemical Society (ACS) Standardized Exams

10. Success of Chemistry Majors in Medical Schools

11. Conclusion Institutions will increasingly be required to demonstrate successful student learning and performance outcomes by providing data in the same manner to national questions and by providing standardized test results as compared nationally.

12. National Trends Toward Standardized Accountability Reporting:Implications for Institutional Research Ross A. Griffith Wake Forest Universitygriffith@wfu.edu NCAIR/SCAIR Conference Asheville, North Carolina April 7-9, 2008